Odysseus Flaws

Odysseus of Ithaka encounters many challenges throughout The Odyssey, including the aftermath of the Trojan War, the Lotus Eaters, the Seirênês and more. Though he faces multiple challenges, Odysseus fails to learn from his mistakes and does not develop nor grow in character after the Trojan War. He does not evaluate the faults he has made in order to avoid the same issues in the future, and instead continues his journey with the belief that he is not the one at fault for the complications he and his crew encounter. Odysseus is a static character due to the fact that he does not jump at the opportunity to change, and instead remains to be a man who yearns to go home, and fails to learn from the lessons the Gods are aiming to teach him. Odysseus fails to …show more content…
(The Odyssey, pg. 159-160).
Every man in Odysseus’ crew is afraid that Odysseus will bait Polyphemus and cause even more anger to be bestowed on them all, yet Odysseus goes against all of them and does just that. Odysseus’ ego causes him to want his name put on his “great” actions, but he fails to understand the consequences that may lie ahead. Odysseus also lacks the leadership skills required during the journey the crew and he are making. When Odysseus receives a bag of winds from Aiolos, the wind king, he is told that the bag contains all of the winds he does not need on his journey. Therefore, the only wind outside of the bag is the one he needs to get to Ithaka by. Aiolos tells Odysseus to make sure that the bag shall only be opened when he gets home to Ithaka, and that he must follow the law. Odysseus fails to relay the message to his crew, which results in the journey having to begin all over again. While the ship is miles away from Ithaka, the crew questions what is inside the bag from Aiolos. Odysseus is sleeping inside the ship, while the crew unties the bag.
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